Livestock

Alpacas

Vicugna pacos

Alpacas are small South American camelids raised chiefly for their fine fleece, traditionally herded on high-altitude Andean rangelands and now also farmed in temperate regions worldwide as a specialised fibre livestock species.

Bison

Bison bison

Bison are large North American ruminants raised primarily on extensive rangeland for meat and hides. As ruminants adapted to native grassland, they are managed mostly through pasture-based and ranch systems rather than intensive confinement.

Camels

Camelus dromedarius (dromedary); Camelus bactrianus (Bactrian)

Camels are large, foregut-fermenting livestock adapted to arid and semi-arid environments, raised for milk, meat, transport, and fibre. The single-humped dromedary dominates hot desert regions, while the two-humped Bactrian camel is kept in colder Central Asian rangelands.

Cattle

Bos taurus; Bos indicus

Cattle are large domesticated ruminants raised worldwide for milk, beef, hides, and draught power. As ruminants, they can convert forage and by-products into food, and are managed across a wide range of systems.

Chickens

Gallus gallus domesticus

Chickens are domesticated monogastric birds raised worldwide for eggs and meat. Distinct broiler (meat) and layer (egg) types have been developed, and production ranges from backyard flocks to large intensive commercial systems.

Donkeys

Equus africanus asinus

Donkeys are monogastric hindgut-fermenting equids kept worldwide as working animals for pack and draught power, transport, and, in some regions, milk. Descended from the African wild ass, they are especially well adapted to hot, dry, and marginal environments.

Ducks

Anas platyrhynchos domesticus; Cairina moschata (Muscovy)

Ducks are monogastric waterfowl raised worldwide for meat, eggs, and down, kept in systems from free-range ponds and rice paddies to intensive housed operations. Most farmed ducks descend from the mallard or from the separate Muscovy duck species.

Farmed Fish

Farmed fish are finfish species such as tilapia, carp, and salmon raised in ponds, cages, tanks, or recirculating systems for food. Aquaculture is one of the fastest-growing sources of animal protein worldwide, with production systems and feeding strategies that vary widely by species and region.

Geese

Anser anser domesticus; Anser cygnoides domesticus

Geese are large, grass-grazing monogastric waterfowl kept for meat, eggs, and down, and valued in some systems for their strong grazing behaviour, which has historically been used for weed control in row crops and orchards.

Goats

Capra hircus

Goats are hardy, adaptable ruminants raised worldwide for milk, meat, and fibre. Their browsing behaviour and tolerance of difficult environments make them an important livestock species in smallholder and marginal-land systems.

Guinea Fowl

Numida meleagris

Guinea fowl are hardy, ground-dwelling poultry farmed for meat and eggs and valued for their active foraging on insects and other invertebrates. Widely kept in free-range and mixed smallholder systems, they are also raised commercially for meat.

Honey Bees

Apis mellifera

Honey bees are managed social insects kept in hives for honey and wax production and, increasingly, for the pollination services their colonies provide to many crops. Colony health depends on forage availability, disease and pest management, and beekeeping practices that vary from backyard hives to large migratory operations.

Horses

Equus caballus

Horses are large monogastric herbivores kept worldwide for draught power, transport, recreation, and, in some countries, meat. As hindgut fermenters rather than ruminants, they digest fibrous forage in the cecum and colon and are managed across grazing, stabled, and working-animal systems.

Mule

Equus asinus × Equus caballus

Mules are sterile hybrids of a male donkey and a female horse, combining donkey hardiness with horse size and strength. Valued worldwide as pack and draught animals, they are monogastric hindgut fermenters kept mainly in working-animal systems.

Ostrich

Struthio camelus

Ostriches are large, flightless ratite birds farmed worldwide for meat, leather, and feathers. As monogastric birds adapted to arid grassland, they are raised in both extensive ranching and intensive commercial systems.

Pheasant

Phasianus colchicus

Pheasants are farmed game birds raised for meat, for release into hunting estates, and on a smaller scale for eggs. Reared under commercial, small-scale, and release-oriented systems, they form a distinct branch of poultry husbandry linked to game management.

Pigs

Sus scrofa domesticus

Pigs are monogastric, single-stomached omnivores raised worldwide primarily for pork. They are efficient converters of formulated feed into meat and are managed across systems ranging from intensive indoor operations to outdoor and smallholder settings.

Quail

Coturnix japonica; Coturnix coturnix

Quail are small, fast-maturing game birds farmed worldwide for eggs and meat. Their short generation interval and compact size make them well suited to intensive commercial systems as well as small-scale backyard production.

Rabbits

Oryctolagus cuniculus

Rabbits are small monogastric hindgut fermenters raised for meat, fibre, and pelts, kept in systems ranging from backyard hutches to intensive commercial cage operations. Their digestion relies on caecal fermentation and re-ingestion of soft droppings (cecotrophy).

Sheep

Ovis aries

Sheep are small domesticated ruminants raised worldwide for wool, meat, milk, and hides. They are well suited to grazing a wide range of terrain, including land too steep or marginal for other livestock or crops.

Silkworms

Bombyx mori

Silkworms are the domesticated larvae of the silk moth, reared exclusively on mulberry leaves to produce cocoons that are unwound for silk fibre. Sericulture links silkworm rearing directly to mulberry cultivation and is practised at both household and commercial scale.

Turkeys

Meleagris gallopavo

Turkeys are large domesticated monogastric birds raised primarily for meat, with commercial production concentrated in a small number of fast-growing strains and smallholder or heritage flocks kept more widely for local consumption.

Water Buffalo

Bubalus bubalis

Water buffalo are large ruminants raised across Asia and increasingly in other regions for milk, meat, and draught power, especially in rice-based farming systems. River and swamp types are adapted to hot, humid climates and frequently wallow in water or mud.

Yak

Bos grunniens

Yaks are large ruminants uniquely adapted to the high-altitude cold environments of the Himalayan and Central Asian plateaus, raised for milk, meat, fibre, hides, and transport. Pastoral grazing and seasonal transhumance are the dominant production systems.